A £230mn compensation scheme for investors trapped in the failed Woodford fund was given the green light at a meeting this week (December 13).
Provisional numbers released after the meeting showed 93.7 per cent of investors backed the proposals.
Link Fund Solutions Limited, the administrator of the fund once run by Neil Woodford, called it an “important step” in the scandal.
The vote meeting was held two months after a High Court order, which said a single meeting of creditors affected should be convened to vote on the proposed scheme.
A spokesperson for Link said: “With this vote, investors have demonstrated their strong support for the scheme. We actively sought to reach as many scheme creditors as possible to ensure they had their say and are extremely grateful to all investors who made their voices heard.
“This is an important step for the scheme, and the establishment of the settlement fund.”
The spokesperson added the company believes it is the “best option available” for investors.
More than 54,000 scheme creditors attended the meeting in person, or by proxy, and work to verify the votes is still ongoing.
Link now expects another hearing to take place on January 18 to approve the scheme after which there will be 21 days to appeal the decision.
It is expected the scheme will become fully effective on February 9, 2024.
Link estimates it will distribute between £183.5mn and £200mn by March 31, if the scheme is approved.
Link was responsible for monitoring and supervising the investments executed by Neil Woodford’s eponymous fund before it failed in October 2019.
In November 2022, Link’s figures showed there was £50mn still in the fund after £2.56bn was sent to investors through five payments.
In April this year, the FCA announced that Link made ‘critical errors and mistakes’ which ‘caused significant losses for those investors who remained in the fund when it was suspended’.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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